Heading machines for bolts, screws, rivets, and the like



May 29, 1956 FRAY 7 2,747,205

HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS, RIVETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 m INVENTOR VIcTOK HILL FRAy AGENTS.

May 29, 1956 H A 2,747,205

HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS, RIVEJTS, AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 VICTOR Hm. PM

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HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS, RIVETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 2 29 Ma b ICTOR HILL FRA) Ygo 'Aaem" May 29, 1956 v. H. FRAY 2,747,205

HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS, RIVETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1952 e Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V ENToR VILTOR HILL FRAy HMM.M+ZD.

AGENTS 7 May 29, 1956 V. H. FRAY HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS, RIVETS, AND THE LIKE Filed NOV. 12, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 VICTOR HILL FRA; liwmfwmp.

AGENTS HEADING MACHINES FOR BOLTS, SCREWS,

RIVETS, AND THE LIKE Victor Hill Fray, Auckland, New Zealand Application November 12, 1952, Serial No. 319,834

Claims priority, application New Zealand November 12, 1951 Claims. (Cl. 10-13) The invention relates to heading machines whereby heads are forged on round metal wires for making bolts, screws, rivets and the like or the making of blanks from which these articles are produced, the heads applied being of known countersunk, round and other known forms, the objects of the present invention being the provision of an improved heading machine which will increase the speed of production by substantially four to one as against the standard types of machine at present in use.

The present known machines in use are limited in their output because of vibration and stresses to which they are subject in striking the heading blows, heavy parts moving reciprocally to strike the forging blows with heavy stationary parts required to absorb such blows, standard machines in use having reciprocating crossheads with slide members thereon which carry two punches so that at each inward striking stroke of the crosshead, first one and then the other punch is moved by the sliding member to position to deliver the blow so that two inward strokes of the crosshead are required to complete the head forging operation.

Still further heading machines are known in which two punches simultaneously efiect blows in two dies, with the work transferred from one die to the other between the inward strokes of the crosshead so that in general, it may be said that all of these known machines are such as to be limited in their speed of operation because of the heaviness of the parts which move reciprocally and the mechanical movements which are involved between forging blows in effecting either the changing of the positions of the dies, or the transfer of the work from one die to another. I

The mechanical movements involved in the known machines are such that if their speeds were increased to beyond that which is normal, they would fail to produce consistently satisfactory work and are very liable to breakdown and therefore it can be said that they are now working to the limit they are capable of.

These known machines effect their major mechanical movements reciprocally, it being well known that with reciprocally moving parts there is greater limitation as to speed than applies to rotary moving parts, the present invention having been devised to reduce reciprocally moving parts to greatest possible extent and in respect of the reciprocally moving parts which must be used because of the nature of the machine necessitating the striking of forging blows, to balance out or offset these blows so that a greater number can be given in a given time.

Broadly the invention comprises an improved heading machine for bolts, screws, rivets and the like comprising a multi-punch carrying crosshead and a multi-die carrying crosshead slidable in guide means in a bedplate, means for reciprocally moving these crossheads in opposite directions, a rotatable die block in the die carrying cross head to which the dies are secured and a central shaft secured to such die block for efl'ecting rotation of same, indexing means for causing intermittent rotation of the central shaft and the die block, means for feeding wire 'nited States Patent 0 Patented May 29, 1956 into the machine, means for cutting the wire into wire pieces and for feeding such wire pieces into the dies of the machine one at a time, means for ejecting the headed articles from the dies of the machine and means for locking the die block to the die crosshead at the instant when blows are being struck.

In describing. the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine,

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional side elevation on line AB of Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is an and elevation of the machine from the flywheel end thereof,

Figure 4 is a plan view of the machine,

Figure 5 is a sectional plan View of the crosshead. end of the machine,

Figure 6 is a partial end elevation of the outer end face of the die crosshead,

Figure 7 is a partial end elevation of the inner face of the die crosshead showing also the face of the die block which is within such die crosshead,

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the open top end of the magazine,

Figure 9 shows the fork ended lever of the mechanism for actuating the stop pin which engages the die block,

Figure 10 is an elevation of the guide plate,

Figure 11 is a plan view of such guide plate,

Figure 12 is an elevation of the bracket plate,

Figure 13 is a plan view of said bracket plate,

Figure 14 shows an elevation of the ejector flange and its actuating mechanism looking towards the indexing mechanism end of the machine,

Figure 15 is a sectional elevation through the ejector actuating mechanism when the punch and die crossheads are in inward position towards each other,

Figure 16 is a similar view to that of Fig. 15 but with the punch and die crossheads in outward position away from each other and eifecting the ejecting of a blank,

Figure 17 shows a perspective view of one of the in dexing pin sliding blocks,

Figure 18 shows a sectional view of the wire feed mechanism,

Figure 19 shows an elevation of the wire cutting mechanism,

Figure 20 is a partial sectional plan view of Fig. 19,

Figure 21 is an enlarged sectional elevation through the die block end of the die crosshead,

Figure 22 is a side elevation of the wire piece feed-in mechanism in outward position,

Figure 23 is a similar view to that of Fig. 22 but with the finger bar and fingers carrying a wire piece from the magazine for entry to the dies and Figure 24 shows sectional views of the three punches.

In the invention, there is a bedplate 1 across which near one end thereof there is a crankshaft 2 (see Fig. 5) rotatably supported in bearings 3 and 3a secured to the bedplate 1, with a flywheel or driving wheel 4 at one end of such crankshaft 2 and a bevel gear 5 secured at its other end, outward from the bearings 3 and 3a, this crankshaft 2 not having cranks thereto but having three eccentrics'or eccentric sheaves, a wide central eccentric 6 being disposed between two narrower eccentrics 7 and 7a and the throw of the central wide eccentric 6 being equal but opposite to that of the two outer narrower eccentrics 7 and 7a.

Disposed around these eccentrics 6, 7 and'7a there are two reciprocally movable crossheads 8 and 9 which are slidable in crosshead guides 10 (see Fig. 3) which are longitudinally formed along the top surface of one end of the bedplate 1 at right angles to the crankshaft 2, one of these crossheads 8 (see Fig. 5) which may be called the punch crosshead 8 being engaged by the cena e cent ic 6; hi e the he cr s head 9 h ch may be called the die crosshead 9 is engaged by the two outer eccentrics 7 and 7a so that rotation of the crankshaft 2 and its eccentrics 6, 7 and 7a will cause these two crossheads 8 and 9 to move reciprocally in opposite directions (inwardly towards each other and outwardly away from each other) the engagement between the eccentrics 6, 7 and 7a and their respective crossheads 8 and 9 being in the known manner, with engaging blocks 11, 12 and 12a within which said eccentrics 6, 7 and 7a rotatably bear, vertically slidable Within vertical slots 8a and 9a cut in the crossheads 8 and 9, bearing plates 11a being disposed between the central punch crosshead 8 and the adjacent portions of the die crosshead 9 for friction minimising.

These crossheads 8 and 9 are so constructed that the punch crosshead 8 is housed to a considerable extent within the boxdike die crosshead 9 and this latter is partly divided into two equal portions 9b extending along to an interior space or passage 13 across same in which space 13 between the two crossheads 8 and 9 the forging takes place, both crossheads 8 and 9 having vertical faces 8b and 9c directed towards each other on which the punches and dies are respectively disposed, the rear top ends of the crosshead portions 9b being connected by a connecting bar 14 (see Fig. 3). i

The punch crosshead 8 carries three punches disposed at equal distances apart in a circle which is concentric with the horizontal centre line of the machine, these punches 15, 15a and 15b being rigidly secured to the face 8b of the punch crosshead 8 to move reciprocally along with same, the punches 15a and 15b having their engaging ends suitably recessed 150 (see Fig. 24) to effect the head forming in two or three stages in that the first of these punches 15 may be used for wire injecting purposes only and thus not have a recess 15c therein.

In respect of the die crosshead 9 (see Fig. 21) this has a bore 9d into same on the horizontal centre line extending from the vertical face 90 of same which is at the space or passage 13 and rotatably disposed within this bore 9d there is a circular die block 16, it being into this block 16 that the three dies 17 are inserted at the same intervals apart as thethree punches 15, 15a and 15b.

The three dies 17 which are all identical in form have bores 17a therein and in bores 16a formed in the block 16 concentric with and behind the dies 17 there are ejector pins 18, these bores 16a extending to a face 9e at the bottom of a reduced bore 9f which is inward from the bore 9d of the die crosshead 9, the enlarged rear ends 18a of the ejector pins 18 bearing against the face 9e, while the smaller pin ends 1812 project into the die bores 17a, such ejector pins 18 being adapted for longitudinal travel within the die crosshead 9 and die block 16 and rotating along with the latter within the crosshead 9.

Centrally through the outer end of the die crosshead 9 passing into the reduced bore 9] there is a bore 9g through which a central shaft 19 is rotatable, this shaft 19 at its inner end extending to within a suitably formed central bore 16b in the circular die block 16 and being secured thereto in any suitable manner as by a taper 19a and a locknut 19b on the shaft 19, such shaft 19 extending along the machine bedplate 1 away from the crossheads 8 and 9.

Also cut through the outer end of the die crosshead 9 and extending to the reduced bore 9 there is an arcuate ejector slot 911 (see Figs. 6 and 21 and vertically down from the top of the die crosshead 9. there is a locking pin bore 9i (see Fig. 21) which extends to the bore 9d, they die, block 16 having three indents 160 in its periphery which coincide with the positions of the three dies 17 and which in turn will register with the locking pin bore 9i.

Towards the other end of the bedplate 1 to that at which the crossheads 8 and 9 are located, a pedestal bearing 20 rigidly secured to the said bedplate 1 slidably and rotatably supports the central shaft 19 (see Figs. 1 and 4) and rotatably over the hollow shaft portion 20a of this bearing 21) within which the central shaft 19 is disposed there is mechanism somewhat like that of a motor vehicle differential, being provided with a main wheel 21 preferably of heavy flywheel type and including a gear wheel or gear ring 21a on its periphery and also having cages 22 extending from its inner end face for the carrying of one or more planet wheels 23, these latter being bevel pinions secured to short planet wheel shafts 24 which are disposed radially in relation to the central shaft 19 and are rotatably carried in bearings 22a forming portions of the cages 22 of the main wheel 21, the inner ends of these planet wheel shafts 24 being located near the central shaft 19 and having crank like ends the indexing pins or crankpins 24a of which are set at an angle so that their centre lines are directed to the centre line of the central shaft 19 and slightly outside the pitch cone of the planet Wheels 23.

If the centre lines of the indexing pins 24a of the planet wheel shafts 24 were exactly on the pitch line of the planet wheels 23, the dwell at the moment of indexing would be for only an instant and therefore in order to lengthen the period of dwell, the indexing pins 24a are so disposed that their centre lines are slightly outside the pitch cone of the teeth of the planet wheels 23, this resulting in a considerably longer dwell period being transmitted to the die block 16 and although an undesirable oscillation results, this oscillation can be effectively damped by a slight torsion as hereinafter mentioned being set up in the central shaft 19.

One planet wheel 23 and its associated parts could be suflicient for the purposes of the present invention, but for balance and speed purposes, it is preferred to have three of the planet wheels 23 disposed around the main wheel 21 at the side of same nearest to the die crosshead 9, a crownwheel 25 being located at the crosshead side of the main wheel 21.

This crownwheel 25 is concentric with the central shaft 19 and is rigidly secured against rotation by being secured to a holding bracket 26 which is mounted to the bedplate 1, the teeth of such crownwheel 25 being in mesh with the'teeth of the planet wheels 23, there being a central hole (not shown) in the crownwheel 25 and a hole 26a in the bracket 26 for passage of the central shaft 19 therethrough to the die crosshead 9, the tubular shaft portion 20a of the pedestal bearing 20 extending only to the inner face of the main wheel 21.

In the central space into which the indexing pins 241: project, there is an indexing block 27 (see Figs. 15 and 16 which is rigidly secured to the central shaft 19, an end portion of such block 27 resembling a dog clutch by being provided with three ratchet teeth and being called the indexing cam 27a, the other part of the indexing block 27 having slots 27b in its periphery which extend axially and have sliding blocks 28 therein which have holes 23a into which the indexing pins 24a rotatably project.

An ejector flange 29 has a boss 29a which is rotatably carried by a bearing 30 which is fitted into the hole 26:: of the bracket 26, a single tooth or indexing dog 29b pro jecting from the boss 29a towards the teeth of the indexing cam 27a, and ejector 29c of arc form in cross section (see Fig. 14) projecting from the ejector flange 29 into the arcuate ejector slot 971 of the die crosshead 9, this ejector flange 29 and its integral or attached parts being required to oscillate but not to slide, the central shaft 19 passing through same with clearance, one end of a connecting rod hereinafter referred to being pivot-ally connected to the upper portion of the ejector flange 29.

Extending along the side of the machine and rotatably carried in bearings 31 and 31a (see Figs. 1 and 4) which are secured to the bedplate 1, there is a side or cam shaft 32, this at one end having a bevel gear 33 secured thereto which is in mesh with the bevel gear at an end of the crankshaft 2, such side shaft 32 terminating at the end of the bedplate 1 at which the indexing mechanism is located and having a gear pinion 34 secured thereto which is in mesh with an idler wheel 34a on a suitably held yoke 34b mounted on the side shaft 32 meshing with the gear wheel or gear ring 21a of the main wheel 21 of such indexing mechanism, this side or cam shaft 32 carrying cams for effecting various operations.

One of these cams on the side shaft 32 is the ejector cam 35 (see Fig. 14) this having a cam track or recess 35a having wide and narrow portions 35b and 350 in which the roller 36 of lever 37 is engaged, the lower end of such lever being pivotally secured to a bracket 38 which is secured to the bedplate 1, while the upper end of such lever is pivotally connected to one end of a connecting rod 39 the other end of which is pivotally connected to the ejector flange 29, an adjustable screw 40 on the bracket 38 is being provided in respect of the lever 37.

With the die block 16 rotatable within the die crosshead 9, it is essential that this block 16 positively stop its rotation at the various positions which are 120 degrees apart and to ensure the accuracy of engagement of the punches 15, 15a and 15b with the dies 17 at each of these stop positions, a locking pin 41 slidably extends through the bore 9i in the die crosshead 9 to project into and be withdrawn from the indents 160 which are formed in the periphery of the die block 16, a recessed track cam 42 secured to the crankshaft 1 alongside the flywheel 2 (see Fig. 4) being engaged by the roller 43 of a roller lever 43a which at its other end is pivotally mounted to a bracket 44 extending up from the bedplate 1, the forked end 45 of a lever 45a slidably engaging the roller lever 43a (see Fig. 9) this lever 45a being secured to one end of a shaft 46 (see Fig. 4) which is rotatable in bearings 47 and 47a which are secured to the die crosshead 9, a further lever 48 secured to the shaft 46 passing to the top end of the locking pin 41 and being pivotally secured thereto.

At the side shaft side of the machine there is mechanism for cutting the wire into the required lengths and for feeding same into the machine through the clear opening or passage 13 across the die crosshead 9, the wire feeder comprising (see Fig. 4) a connecting rod 49 with one end pivotally connected to the punch crosshead 8 and its other end connected to an end of a rocking lever 50, this latter being adjustably slidable through'a block 51 which is pivotally carried by a bracket 52 which is secured to the bedplate 1 (see Fig. 3) the rocking lever 50 being securable to the block 51 by a setscrew 53, the other end of such rocking lever 50 being connected to one end of a connecting rod 54 (see Fig. 4) the other end of which is pivotally connected to a crosshead 55 which is adapted for reciprocal travel within a crosshead guide 56 which is rigidly secured to the bedplate 1.

This crosshead 55 '(see Fig. 18) has a semicircular gripping groove 55a along same for gripping the wire 57 passing therethrough and houses a wedge block 58 which has some small degree of lateral movement within the crosshead 55 up to an inclined surfaced portion 55b thereof, a housed spring 59 secured to the crosshead 55 bearing against the larger end of the wedge block 58 to yieldingly force the latter towards the connecting rod end of the crosshead 55, such wedge block 58 also having a gripping groove 58a between which and the complementary groove 55a of the crosshead 55 the wire 57 is alter-- nately gripped and released on being fed to the machine.

Along with this mechanism there is a non-return wire engaging apparatus, this having a base block 60 which is rigidly mounted to the bedplate 1 and has a gripping groove 60a, an inclined surfaced portion 60b and a housed spring 61, this latter bearing against the larger end of a wedge block 62 which has a small degree of lateral travel within the base block 60 and is also provided with a gripping groove 62a.

The wire 57 on having been fed from the roll of same 1 through the non-return apparatus and the feeding apparatus of Fig. 18 passes to the apparatus in which the wire 57 is cut into suitable lengths or wire pieces 57a from which the headed blanks 63 are to be produced in the machine, this comprising a horizontal knife guide 64 (see Fig. 19) which is rigidly secured to the bedplate 1, at right angles thereto and projecting an end of same in the direction of the space 13 in the die crosshead 9, Such knife guide 64 including a slot 64a and a cover plate 64b within which the knife blade 65 is reciprocally movable, such movement being effected by a bellcrank 66 which is mounted on a pivot 67 secured to a lug 640 of the knife guide 64, with such bellcrank 66 having a pivot pin 66a which engages the outer end of the knife blade 65, a further pin 66b to the bellcrank 66 being engaged within the cam track recess 68a of a cam 68 which is secured to the side shaft 32.

Set into the inner end of the knife guide 64 there is a circular hard steel cutter die 69 having a wire hole 69a therethrough, the face of the die 69 being flush with the surface of the slot 64a, said knife guide 64 having a grip pin lug 64d integral therewith or secured thereto in which a grip plunger 70 is slidably disposed, this having a head 70a with a slot 70b therein at one end and a nut 71 screwed on to its other end adapted to come to bear against the lug 64d, a compression spring 72 on the plunger 70 yieldingly holding the latter in such position at which the nut 71 bears against the lug 64d, this plunger apparatus being located within a recess 65a in the knife blade 65 to the outer end of which recess 65a the knife edge 65b is disposed, such edge 65b having a slot 650 therein which is complementary to the slot 7% in the head 70a of the grip plunger 70.

Secured to the knife blade 65 so as to extend along below the recess 65a therein, there is a pushbar 73, this extending to below theknife edge 65b and into the open bottom end 74a of a chute or channel form of magazine '74, this latter having an upper lip 74b projecting therefrom in the direction of the knife edge 65b and having a spring loaded ball stop or the like 75 fitted thereto, the wire pieces 57a being forced up this magazine 74 past the ball stop 75 by the pushbar 73.

This magazine 74 extends up into the space 13 in the die crosshead 9 and at its open top end 74c is just short of coming into the circular path travelled by the dies 17 this magazine 74 including a further spring loaded ball stop 75a and having side and inward lugs 74d (see Fig. 8) which prevent lateral movement and further upward travel of the wire pieces 57a on having reached the open top end 74c of the magazine 74.

Adapted to move the wire pieces 57a from the open top end 740 of the magazine 74 into the path of the dies 17 there is the mechanism as shown in Figs. 22 and 23, a slide block 76 being rigidly mounted to the bedplate 1 and slidably carrying a reciprocally movable finger bar 7'7, this at its outer end having a roller 78 rotatably secured thereto which engages within the cam track recess 79a of a cam 79 which is secured to the side shaft 32.

To the inner end of this finger bar 77 there is a rigidly secured fixed finger 77a from which a thin finger plate 77b projects and above such fixed finger 77a there is a rocking or movable finger 80, this latter rocking on a pivot 81 which is secured to the finger bar 77 and there being a spring 82 engaging same which tends to cause the hooked finger tip a to be moved towards the fixed finger plate 77b, such movable finger 88 including a top surface 80b and an inclined end 800 adapted for engagement by a pin 83 which is secured to the slide block 76 and against which the spring 82 causes said surface 80b and end 800 to hear at times.

In a position to the side of that to which the wire pieces 57a are carried by the fingers 77a and 80 preparatory to being pushed into a die 17 of the die block 16, a guide plate 84 is rigidly secured to the die crosshead 9 (see Figs. 7, 10 and 11) this being in substantially close contact with the die block 16 and apart from preventing lateral travel of the latter within the bore 90, having a curved blind channel or slot 84:! formed therein which is concentric with the die block 16 and at its closed end is in a position for feed-in of the wire pieces 57a to the dies 17, such slot 84a having a bevelled entry edge 84b and the plate 84 having a spring 85 secured thereto the free end 85;: of which projects partly across the slot 8%, such free end 85a being movable clear of the slot 54a into a recess 84c in the plate 84 (see Fig. 10).

A bracket plate 86 (see Figs. 7, l2 and 13) is also rigidly secured to the die crosshead 9 in the direct vicinity of the guide plate 84, this having a right angle portion 86a at the outer end of which an engaging face 86b extends to over the circular path followed by the dies 17 and outwardly from the die block 16, the entry edge 86c of the engaging face 86b being slightly curved.

The drive between the crankshaft 2 and the gear wheel or gear ring 21a of the main wheel 21 of the indexing mechanism will be such that for three revolutions of the crankshaft 2 there will be one revolution of the main wheel 21 of such indexing mechanism and as the gear ratio between the planet wheels 23 and the crownwheel 25 is three to one, in this one revolution of the main wheel 21, the planet'wheels 23 will have effected three revolutions during their planetary travel.

Accordingly, for one revolution of the crankshaft 2 there is one revolution of the planet wheels 23 during planetary travel thereof equal to one third of a revolution of the main wheel 21 and therefore because of such planet wheels 23 being secured to shafts 24 which have indexing pins 240 which extend into sliding blocks 28 which are slidably engaged in slots 27b of the indexing lock 27 which in turn is secured to the central shaft 19, a third of a revolution is transmitted to such shaft 19 so that it rotates the die block 16 within the die crosshead 9 one hundred and twenty degrees.

If the main wheel 21 was directly connected to the central shaft 19, the rotation of the said shaft 19 would exactly coincide with that of the main wheel 21, but in the invention, as the rotation transmitted from the main wheel 21 to the central shaft 1% is through the indexing pins 241'; which are travelling in a planetary manner and are also effecting a crank like travel on the ends of the planet wheel shafts 2 this means that these indexing pins 24a durin their lanetar I travel are movin at sta es of their g P c crank like motion against the direction of rotation of the main wheel 21 and to an extent which is such that the rotation is cancelled out or offset.

This cancelling out takes place only when the indexing pins 24a of the planet wheel shafts 24 are swinging in a direction which is opposite to the rotation of the main wheel 21, but obviously when these indexing pins 24a are swinging in a direction which is the same as that of the main wheel 21, these are effecting a rotating push on the central shaft 19 which is their own speed of travel plus the speed of travel of the main wheel 21;

The result therefore is such that while the main wheel 21 rotates at a steady even speed, the drive it is transmitting to the central shaft 19 and the die block 16 rotatably mounted in the die crosshead 9 comprises intermittent movements of 128 degrees with dwell periods between, it being during these dwell periods that the dies 17 and the punches 15, a, and 15b come together in effecting the forging blows,

In use or operation, in view of the fact that there are two crossheads 8 and 9 one of which carries the punches 15, 15a and 15b and the other the three dies 17, both reciprocally movable inwardly towards each other and outwardly away from each other, it will be obvious that (in relation to the known machines with one movable cross head) with both crossheads moving away from each other and both moving towards each other, the respective distances of travel can be halved to give an equal total stroke and therefore without causing vibration or strains in excess of those of the known machines, the revolutions of the crankshaft 2 can be increased.

Furthermore, with the movable crossheads 8 and 9 substantially of the same weight moving towards each other to strike the blow, they substantially cancel out their reactions and absorb the impact within themselves and therefore this means that the blow is concentrated on the forging work being done, so that conditions are still further improved for the speeding up of the operation of the machine.

The indexing mechanism by imparting a rotary movement to the die block 16 in one direction only, also means that no heavy parts which have to move reciprocally are required, and the cutting of the wire 57 at "a point which is away from the dies 17 along with simpler means for feeding such previously cut wire pieces 57a into the dies 17 also means that the speed of operation can be increased so that increased production of four to one may be obtained.

To produce the wire pieces 570, the Wire 57 from the roll of same first passes through the gripping grooves 60a and 62a of the base block 69 and wedge block 62 (see Pigv 18) the action of which is to permit the wire 57 to travel towards the feeding mechanism which has the crosshead 55, but to prevent any return travel of the wire 57 in reverse direction, any such tendency for return travel being checked by causing the wedge block 62 to be moved back a small extent as permitted whereby the said wedge block 62 moved by the spring 61 causes jamming of the wire in the grooves 66a and 62a.

The wire 57 then passes into the gripping grooves 55a and 58a of the crosshead 55 and wedge block 58, these being moved reciprocally in the crosshead guide 56 by the connecting rod 5 4 which is moved by the rocking lever in turn connected to the punch crosshead 8 through the connecting rod 49, the length of travel of the crosshead determining the lengths of the wire pieces 57a and such lengths being adjustable by the sliding of the rocking lever 50 in the block 51 and securing same thereto by the setscrew 53.

As this reciprocal travel of the crosshead 55 is effected by the reciprocal movement of the punch crosshead 8, the wire 57 is intermittently fed through the gripping grooves 55a and 581; at the correct speed to produce the required wire pieces 57a at the same speed which the machine will produce the headed blanks 63, the wire 57 being fed into the hole 69a of the cutter die 69, the travel of the wire 57 effected being at times when the cutter apparatus is in the position as shown in Fig. 19.

With the wire projecting through the hole 69a of the cutter die 69, the cam 68 (see Fig. 19) moves the bellcrank 66 so as to draw the knife blade in the direction of the cam 68, this causing the knife edge 65b to pass the die hole 6% so that the projecting piece of wire 57 gets sheared off to thus produce the wire piece 57a at which stage such piece would be liable to fly away but for the fact that it is engaged within the slots 65c of the knife edge 65b and also within the complementary slot 70b of the grip plunger '70, this latter also then moving in the direction of the cam 68 against the resistance to such movement imposed by the compression spring 72.

The knife blade 65 then commences its return travel, the grip plunger 79 stopping its return travel when the nut 71 bears against the lug 64d, the knife blade 65 continuing its return travel back to the position as shown in Fig. 19, and as the grip on the wire piece 57a has been released, it will drop down on to the bottom open end 74a of the magazine 74, but if it has failed to drop and being most probably stuck in the slot 650 of the knife edge 65b, it will encounter the upper lip 74b of the magazine 74 and be pushed out of the slot 650.

The wire pieces 57a as they drop on to the open bottom end 74a of the magazine 74, get pushed into such magazine one by one by the pushbar 73 on the return travel stroke of the knife blade 65 and are thus pushed one behind the other past the ball stops 75 and 75a up to the open top end 74c of the magazine 74, such ball stops 75 and 75a preventing any tendency for return downward travel of the wire pieces 57a within the magazine 74.

At the correct period, the finger bar 77 (see Fig. 22) is moved by the cam 79 away therefrom, this causing the finger plate 77b to be projected between the uppermost wire pieces 57a and the one directly thereunder, while at the same time the hooked finger tip 80a moves down over the top of such wire piece 57a, this downward movement of the finger tip 80a of the movable finger 80 being caused by the top surface 80b of the latter having moved to clear of contact with the pin 83, whereby the spring 82 has moved the movable finger 80 to the position as shown in Fig. 23, the fingers 77a and 80 having moved to beyond the top of the magazine 74.

With the crankshaft 2 rotating as by a suitable drive to the flywheel 4, the cam or side shaft 32 is also rotating so that it is transmitting rotation to the main wheel 21 of the indexing mechanism and with the magazine 74 filled to the top with the wire pieces 57a which are to be formed so as to become the headed blanks 63, the passage of one wire piece 57a through the machine will now be considered.

With the crossheads 8 and 9 apart and commencing to move inwardly towards each other, the fingers 77a and 80 are holding the wire piece 57a projected beyond the open top 740 of the magazine 74 to position in line with the injector punch 15, this punch 15 pushing the wire piece 57a into the slot 84a of the guide plate 84 (see Fig. 7) to under the free end 85a of the spring 85, which presses the wire piece 57a into the bottom of the slot 84a.

The inward travel of the crossheads 8 and 9 continues until they come together as near as they are permitted to approach with the injector punch 15 engaging the end of the wire piece 57a and the major portion of wire being pushed into the die bore 17a to come into contact with the ejector pin 18 at the bottom of such bore 17a, this determining the amount of wire which will remain projected beyond the die 17 for the forming of the head on the wire piece 57a, the injector punch 15 apart from its function of pushing the wire piece 57a into the die 17, also (if so desired) effecting some initial head forming operation.

During the final stages of the pushing of the wire piece 57a into the die bore 17a, the fingers 77a and 80 are withdrawn, the contact of the movable finger 80 with the pin 83 causing it to open as shown in Fig. 22, the punch 15 also if contacting the finger plate 77b and the finger 80 being able to move these apart although any such contact would be very momentary, and not such as would cause any injury to the parts.

The crossheads 8 and 9 then commence to move away from each other and as this takes place, the indexing pins 24a commence their forward sweeping movement so that the central shaft 19 and the die block 16 are rotated 120 degrees so that the particular die 17 with the wire piece 57a therein is moved from in line with the injector punch 15 to now be in line'with the next punch 15a which is the first main punch, the wire piece 57a in such travel having passed under the engaging face 86b of the bracket plate 86 (see Figs. 7 and 12) which ensures that the wire piece 57a has entered the die 17 to the required extent and does not fall out or work out in travel to the next position at which a blow is struck.

During the dwell period, the crossheads 8 and 9 come together whereby the first-main punch 15a strikes the exposed end of the wire piece 57a in the die 17, thereby efiecting a further stage in the head forming operation.

The crossheads 8 and 9 then again move apart and the central shaft 19 and the die block 16 are again rotated" a further degrees so that the particular die 17 with the wire piece therein with partly formed head thereon comes into line with the next punch 15b which is the second main punch, this striking the final blow whereby the required shape of head is formed on the wire piece 57a as shown in Fig. 15. i

The next 120 degrees of rotation would now bring the particular die 17 with the headed blank 63 therein back to its original first position, but in travelling this final 120 degrees, it is necessary to eject the blank 63 which has been produced so that on the die again reaching the first position, it will be open to receive a further wire piece 57a.

Therefore, as the crossheads 8 and 9 commence to move away from each other, the ejector 290 of the ejector flange 29 (see Fig. 15) is actuated by the indexing cam 27a to present an obstruction to the ejector pin 18 of the particular die 17 with the blank 63 therein, with the result that, said ejector pin 18 and the blank 63 which is engaged thereby remain behind during the outward travel of the die crosshead 9 to the position as shown in Fig. 16, so that the blank 63 is pushed out of the bore 17a of the particular die 17.

It will be understood that the reciprocal movements of the die crosshead 9 are causing the central shaft 19 to be also reciprocally moved (apart from the intermittent rotation of such shaft 19 as caused by the indexing mechanism) and therefore as the indexing block 27 is rigidly secured to such central shaft 19, it is also reciprocally moved.

Therefore when the crossheads 8 and 9 have moved towards each other in efiecting the forging blows, the indexing block 27 has moved to the position as shown in Fig. 15 in which its indexing cam 27a has projected its teeth towards the indexing dog 29b of the injector flange 29, so that the rotation of the central shaft 19 and the indexing block 27 is transmitted for a period only to the ejector flange 29, this period of movement being only at the stage between dwell periods when the blank 63 is to be ejected from a die 17 As the die crosshead 9 is moved outward away from the punch crosshead 8, the central shaft 19 is rotating to thus rotate the ejector flange 29 whereby the ejector 29c is travelling within the arcuate ejector slot 911 at the same speed as the central shaft 19 and die block 16 are rotating, so that the enlarged rear end 18:: of the particular ejector pin 18 which is contacting the blank 63 bears against this ejector 290, this latter not moving laterally so that the punch 18 also is unable to move laterally so that the die block 16 which is effecting lateral movement along with the die crosshead 9 causes the ejector pin 18 to be left behind to thus push the blank 63 out of the die.

At this stage as shown in Fig. 16, the outward movement of the die crosshead 9 has moved the teeth of the indexing cam 29a out of engagement with the dog 29b of the ejector flange 29, so that this latter ceases its rotation along with the central shaft 19 whereby the ejector 29c travels no further within the arcuate slot 9h and as the blank 63 has now been ejected, it becomes necessary to return the ejector 290 back to starting position in the arcuate slot 9h, that die crosshead 9 having now also commenced its inward travel so that the particular die 17 from which the blank 63 has been ejected can receive a further wire pieces 57a.

To return the ejector 290 to such starting position in the arcuate slot 9h, which requires to be a quick action, the roller 36 (see Fig. 14) which has been within the wide portion 35b of the track or recess 35a of the ejector cam 35, is moved inwardly by the narrow recess portion 35c, whereby the lever 37 pulls the connecting rod 39 which in turn moves the ejector flange 29 back to normal position with incidental movement of the ejector 290 to position ready to engage behind the next ejector pin 18. ,v

Adjustment of the adjustment screw 40 bearing on the lever 37 will prevent the ejector 290 from continuing rotary travel in the arcuate slot 9h after the teeth of the indexing cam 27a are clear of the dog 2%, there being this tendency because of the thrust applied on the ejector 29c by the ejector pin 18 until the blank 63 has been finally thrust out of the die 17.

It is to be understood that apart from this outward travel of the die block 16 with the crosshead 9, such die block 16 is rotating the 120 degrees, with the result that as soon as the blank 63 has been thrust out of the particular die 17 it is engaged in, it is thrown out in an are clear of the punches and other mechanism, the die crosshead 9 then travelling inwardly to repeat the cycle of operation as described.

While the one wire piece 57a has been going through the operations described in one of the dies 17, the other two dies 17 have also been receiving wire pieces 57a which have been similarly treated to forge the heads whereby the wire pieces become the headed blanks 63 and thus three wire pieces 57a are in course of treatment at a time with every inward stroke of the crossheads 8 and 9 producing a finished blank 63, this being a further point in the requirement of increased speed of production in that known machines require two inward crosshead strokes for the production of a complete blank.

The crankshaft 2 is'causing the opposed reciprocal movements of the die and punch crossheads 9 and 8 and because of the central shaft 19 being secured to the die block 16 within the die crosshead 9, such central shaft 19 also moves reciprocally along with the said crosshead 9 and within the indexing mechanism, this reciprocal travel not being great however because of the short stroke or travel of each crosshead 8 and 9.

Actually, the indexing mechanism described has what may be called a slight oscillating error during the dwell periods, the indexing pins 24a effecting a very slight rocking movement during the dwell periods, and as it would be undesirable for such slight oscillation to be imparted to the central shaft 19 and through same to the die block 1.6, at each position of dwell when the three dies 17 are in position in line with the punches 15, a and 15b, the stop pin 41 of the die crosshead 9 is projected down into one of the stop pin recesses 16c in the die block 16, so that the latter is positively held in such true alignment while the blow is struck, the stop pin 41 being then immediately withdrawn to free the die block 16 for further rotation, the raising and lowering of this stop pin 41 being eifected by the cam 42 at the side of the flywheel, causing reciprocal movements of the roller 43 and its lever 43a, the fork 45 engaging the lever 43a receiving similar movement so that such movement is transmitted through the shaft 46 and lever 48 to the pin 41, it being understood that with the pin 41 and the levers 45a and 48 and the shaft 46 carried by the reciprocally moving die crosshead 9, the fork 45 is also moving along over the lever 43a and retaining engagement therewith.

The stresses caused by the slight oscillation during the periods of dwell are taken by the central shaft 19, this being subject to a slight torsion.

It will be obvious that with three dies 17 and three punches 15, 15a and 15b, the machine is effecting simultaneously multi-blows and that if so desired, there could be more or less than the three dies and three punches to their crossheads 8 and 9, three however being the preferred number to achieve the desired objects of increased speed of production, as giving the required interval for changing the positions of the dies between blows and for the feed-in of the wire pieces 57a and the discharge of the headed blanks in the intervals between blows.

It is known in heading machines to have dies which effect an opening and closing movement on the wire pieces 57a, such opening dies being applied when the lengths of the wire pieces 57a are beyond normal in relation to the diameters thereof, it being obvious to persons conversant with the art that dies of such opening type could be applied to the apparatus of the present invention in place of the closed type of die 17 as shown in the drawings.

I claim:

1. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in a face of which block said dies are mounted, means including a crank shaft mounted in the frame for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, and indexing means, actuated from said crank shaft, for intermittently rotating said die block, during its reciprocating movement, about an axis substantially parallel to the direction of its reciprocation, to bring the dies into registration with one after another of the punches.

2. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in a face of which block said dies are mounted, means including a crank shaft mounted in the frame for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, indexing means, actuated from said crank shaft, for intermittently rotating said die block, during its reciprocating movement, about an axis substantially parallel to the direction of its reciprocation, to bring the dies into registration with one after another of the punches, and means for locking said die block against rotation between its rotational movements.

3. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in a face of which block said dies are mounted, means including a crank shaft mounted in the frame for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, means actuated from said crank shaft for effecting alternate rotative movements and dwells of said die block to bring each die into registration with said punches successively, said rotating movement being effected about an axis substantially parallel to the direction of reciprocation of the cross heads, and said dwell period occurring upon the approaching movements of the cross heads.

4. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the face of the second cross head in which block said dies are mounted, means including a rotatable crank shaft for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, a spindle secured to said die block and projecting from the face of the associated cross head opposite that in which the die block is mounted, indexing means connected to said spindle for effecting intermittent rotation of the spindle and die block, means connecting said indexing means to the crank shaft for actuation by the latter, means for locking said die block against rotation between its rotational movements, and said spindle being capable of torsional movement to permit limited relative rotation of said indexing means and die block.

5. A heading machine as in claim 1, wherein ejector pins are reciprocably mounted in the die block in alignment with said dies, and means are provided on the frame for actuating said pins to eject a blank.

6. A heading machine as in claim 1 having ejector pins reciprocably mounted in the die block in alignment with said dies, means carried by the frame for actuating said pins, and said cross head having a bore therein to receive the rear ends of said pins and permit rotation of the pins with the die block relatively to the cross head.

7. A heading machine as in claim 1 having ejector pins reciprocably mounted in the die block in alignment with said dies, and means carried by the frame for actuating said pins, said last-named means comprising an ejector member extending toward the die block to contact said pins upon retracting movements of the block.

8. A heading machine as in claim 1 having ejector pins reciprocably mounted in the die block in alignment with said dies, means carried by the frame for actuating said pins, said last-named means comprising an ejector member extending toward the die block to contact said pins upon retracting movements of the block, and means to hold said ejector member against movement in a direction away from the cross head.

9. A heading machine as in claim 1 having ejector pins reciprocably mounted in the die block in alignment with said dies, means carried by the frame for actuating said pins, said last-named means comprising an ejector member extending toward the die block to contact said pins upon retracting movements of the block, and means mounting said ejector member on the frame for oscillatory movement about an axis coincident with that of rotation of the die block.

10. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the face of the second cross head in which block said dies are mounted, means including a crank shaft mounted in the frame for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, indexing means actuated from said crank shaft for intermittently rotating said die block about an axis substantially parallel to the direction of its reciprocation during its reciprocating movement to bring the dies into registration with one after another of the punches, and means for locking said die block against rotation between its rotational movements, said locking means comprising an indentation in the die block, a plunger mounted in the cross head and projectable into said indentation, an actuating element movably mounted on the frame, and means connected to said plunger and slidably engaged with said element to actuate said plunger.

11. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in which said dies are mounted, means including a crank shaft rotatably mounted in the frame for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, indexing means for intermittently rotating said die block during its reciprocating movement to bring the dies into registration with one after another of the punches, means connecting said indexing means to the crank shaft for actuation by the latter means for locking said die block against rotation between its rotational movements, said locking means comprising an indentation in the die block, a plunger mounted in the cross head and projectable into said indentation, and cam means actuated by said crank shaft for actuating said plunger.

12. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in which said dies are mounted, means for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, a shaft to which the die block is secured, indexing means for intermittently rotating said die block during its reciprocating movement comprising a fixed fulcrum gear, planet gears meshing with the teeth of said fulcrum gear and revoluble about said shaft, means for revolving said planet gears about the shaft to effect rotation thereof about their axes, and crank pins actuated by said gears and operatively connected to said shaft to rotate the same.

13. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in which said dies are mounted, means for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, a shaft to which the die block is secured, indexing means for intermittently rotating said die block during its reciprocating movement comprising a fixed fulcrum gear, planet gears meshing with the teeth of said fulcrum gear and revoluble about said shaft, means for revolving said planet gears about the shaft to effect rotation thereof about their axes, crank pins carried by said gears, a member securedto the shaft and having longitudinal slots therein, and blocks slidably mounted in said slots with which said crank pins are connected.

14. In a heading machine, a frame, a pair of cross heads mounted therein for reciprocating movements toward and from each other, one of said cross heads carrying a plurality of spaced-apart punches and the second carrying a plurality of spaced-apart dies with which said punches cooperate, a die block rotatably mounted in the second cross head in which said dies are mounted, means for reciprocating both said cross heads simultaneously, one in a direction opposite to the other, a shaft to which the die block is secured, indexing means for intermittently rotating said die block during its reciprocating movement comprising a fixed fulcrum gear, planet gears meshing with the teeth of said fulcrum gear and revoluble about said shaft, means for revolving said planet gears about the shaft to effect rotation thereof about their axes, crank pins carried by said gears, a member secured to the shaft and having longitudinal slots therein, blocks slidably mounted in said slots with which said crank pins are connected, and said crank pins being set at an oblique angle to the axes of the corresponding planet gears.

15. A heading machine as in claim 14 wherein the planet gears are constituted by bevel gears, and the crank pins are set at an angle slightly outside the pitch cone of the teeth of the associated gears.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 52,433 McDermott Feb. 6, 1866 1,024,046 Weeks Apr. 23, 1912 2,232,889 Spencer Feb. 25, 1941 2,236,221 Schwayder Mar. 25, 1941 2,275,269 OLoughlin Mar. 3, 1942 2,318,825 Wilcox May 11, 1943 2,554,664 Davis May 29, 1951 2,570,151 Petersen Oct. 2, 1951 2,621,937 Hunziker Dec. 16, 1952 

